THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. (Applause.) Pete,
thanks for your kind words and thanks for your leadership. New Mexico has
got a fine senior Senator in Pete Domenici. All he talks about is New
Mexico when I'm with him. (Applause.) Now I'm afraid all he's going to
talk about is FLETC. (Laughter.)

It's good to be in Artesia. Some people probably think I've never heard of
Artesia. You forgot I grew up in Midland. Home of the Mighty Bulldogs,
Artesia is. (Applause.) The land where the sky is big and the people are
friendly. I knew I was in pretty good country when I saw all the cowboy
hats, and I think I saw one guy spitting in a can. (Laughter.) But I'm
thrilled to be here, I really am, and I appreciate a chance to be here at
the Border Patrol Academy, here at the Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center.

I want to -- the reason I'm here is because I want the country to pay
attention to what you're doing. And I want you to understand, those of you
who are training to become Border Patrol agents, and those of you who are
training the trainees, I want you to understand that I really appreciate
your contribution to the United States of America, and so do the American
people. (Applause.)

What you're learning to do here is important. It's important for the
security of our nation. And I want to thank you for volunteering. At this
academy new agents undergo 19 weeks of training, and by the looks of it, it
isn't all that easy. It's practical experience. It's the kind of
experience that's going to put you in pretty good stead when it comes to
doing the job that we expect you to do.

You're taking courses in counterterrorism and immigration law. You're
taking courses in anti-drug trafficking and firearms. You're taking
courses in motor vehicle operations. And for those of you who don't know
how to speak Spanish, you're learning how to speak Spanish. Those are all
very important parts of your training.

Look, I'm not here to give you a lecture, but I am here to thank you. I
want to appreciate what you're doing, I appreciate your service. I look
forward to seeing you out there on the border doing the job we expect you
to do. And in a little while, I'm going to tell you, you expect something
from us, too. But the first thing you can expect is the full support of
the federal government, and you have it. (Applause.)

I appreciate -- Pete Domenici is keeping pretty good company today, with
Senator Jeff Bingaman. It's good to see the Senator. Thanks for coming.
I'm proud you're here, as well. (Applause.) I flew down with two members
of the United States Congress, Congressman Tom Udall -- he's from the
northern part of the state -- and Congressman Steve Pearce -- he's here
from the eastern part of New Mexico. It's good to see you all.
(Applause.) Pearce has got that umbrella up -- (laughter) -- because he's
bald-headed. (Laughter.) He's also a fine Congressman. (Laughter.)

I want to thank the Governor of the great state of New Mexico, Governor
Bill Richardson. Governor, I'm proud you're here. Thank you for taking
the time. (Applause.) I know what it's like to be the governor of a
border state. And I know Governor Richardson counts on the federal
government to pass a good piece of legislation that will enable him and the
people of this state who are working with you to do their jobs. And I'm
proud you're on the lead of comprehensive immigration reform, Bill.

I want to thank Secretary Mike Chertoff for joining us. I want to thank
other members of my administration, starting with Ralph Basham, who is the
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and his wife, Judy.
We're fixing to swear Ralph in. Part of this ceremony is for you to
witness the swearing-in of your boss. I think that's a good way for us to
make it clear that those of us who are in Washington, D.C. -- in my case,
on a temporary basis, I want to emphasize -- (laughter) -- we know you're
out here, see, and we care about the job you're doing. I thought it made
sense to swear in the new commissioner in your presence, as a way of making
it clear -- (applause) -- as a way of making it clear for us to say, he may
have an office in Washington, but his heart is right here with the Border
Patrol agents.

I appreciate very much Connie Patrick, who's the Director of the Federal
Law Enforcement Training Center. I want to thank David Aguilar. He's the
Chief of the Border Patrol. For those of you fixing to join the Border
Patrol, you need to know you've got a chief who knows what he's talking
about. See, he did exactly what you've done. (Applause.) Plus, he's a
Texan. (Laughter.) I appreciate Jay Ahern -- he's Assistant Commissioner
of Field Operations for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

I just had a tour given to me by Charlie Whitmire. Maybe you've heard of
Charlie. (Laughter.) He's a no-nonsense kind of guy. See, he's the kind
of guy you want running a facility like this. He's got one thing in mind,
and that is to give you the tools necessary to do the job. Whitmire, I
appreciate your service and thanks for your leadership. Thanks for the
tour. (Applause.)

I appreciate all the state and local officials who have taken time out of
your day to come and say hello, and I particularly want to thank the Mayor,
Manuel Madrid, for being here, as well. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming.
Proud you're here. Thanks for your time. (Applause.)

Most of all, I want to thank you all, and I want you to thank your
families, on behalf of a grateful nation. You need to tell your wives and
children, mothers and fathers how much we appreciate what you're doing. So
you've got my permission to take a little time off this afternoon --
(laughter) -- and let them know. This is a family deal. You're here
training for a very important mission, a mission that's sometimes
dangerous. And I understand how important it is to have the support of
somebody in your house.

See, I got support from a great lady, too, like many of you who are
married. I'm fortunate to be married to Laura Bush who sends her very --
(applause.) She sends her best to all the good folks out here in eastern
New Mexico. Her mother is living right across the border, so we stay in
touch with how people are thinking out here.

And it's -- I can't tell you how -- a joy it is to be out here where the
air is dry and fresh, and the people are down-to-earth and decent, people
who love our country, and people who expect us to handle this immigration
debate with dignity and to get something done. That's what they expect.
The people of Artesia want something done on the immigration issue, and the
people all across our country want something done on this important issue.
So I want to talk to you today about the debate we're having in Washington,
D.C.

The first thing is illegal immigration is a serious problem. The first
thing we got to understand as a country is that illegal immigration
undermines the rule of law. It creates an underground economy. It can
danger [sic] our national security. And therefore, we need to do something
about it.

Illegal immigration makes it tough on local communities. It puts a strain
on public schools and strains state and local budgets, brings crime to some
of our communities. And we need to do something about it.

We've also got to remember this, though, during this debate, that illegal
immigration is a problem, but we need to remember that immigrants have been
one of the great strengths of the United States of America. For
generations immigrants to this country have risked everything because of
the dream of freedom. And they've assimilated into our society. And
they've contributed to our economy. And they've contributed to the
greatness of America. During this debate, this important debate on illegal
immigration, we've got to remember we're a land of immigrants, and
therefore, conduct this debate with dignity.

The United States is a nation of laws, and we're going to enforce our laws.
We're also a nation of immigrants and we're going to uphold that
tradition. And these are not contradictory goals. America can be a lawful
society, and America will be a welcoming society at the same time.

So I'm going to work with Congress to fix our immigration problems, and I'm
going to work with Congress to pass a comprehensive bill I can pass into
law. And we're making progress. I know you're following the debate in
Washington, but we're making progress toward a comprehensive bill.

When I visited the border last fall, Congress was still debating whether to
take any action at all. See, last fall there was a doubt as to whether or
not Congress was going to act on the immigration bill. The last time I
visited the border last month, the House had passed a bill, focusing on
border security and interior enforcement. Now the Senate has passed a
bill, and it's a more comprehensive approach that includes a temporary
worker program and a plan to resolve the status of illegal immigrants
inside our country. And the next step is for the House and the Senate to
reconcile its difference and agree on legislation that both houses can
agree on. And I believe that legislation needs to be comprehensive in
nature, which I'm going to talk about here in a minute.

I know when you watch your television or listen to the radio it seems like
there's nothing but disagreement on immigration policy in Washington. Yet
there's a growing consensus among all parties and all regions of the
country that fundamental reforms are needed. In other words, people are
coming to the conclusion we got to do something about a system that isn't
working. And while the differences grab the headlines, the similarities in
approaches are striking.

We all agree we need to control our borders. There's a common agreement
that the federal government has a responsibility to control the borders, so
that every illegal immigrant caught at the border needs to be sent home.
We agree with that. Secondly, we agree that the government needs to crack
down on businesses that hire illegal workers. In other words, in order to
help you do your job, we all agree that if someone is hiring somebody who
is an illegal immigrant, they've broken the law, and we need to crack down
on that.

We all agree we must reduce the incentives for foreign workers to cross the
border illegally. See, there's agreement on that in Washington. We agree
that it's unacceptable to have millions of illegal immigrants living in our
country beyond the reach of law and the protection of the law. And we all
agree that immigrants to America must assimilate into our society. They
must embrace our values and learn to speak the English language. See,
there's common agreement. There's a consensus. And we need to act on that
broad consensus and deliver comprehensive reform that makes our system,
orderly, secure and fair.

We all agree we've got to enforce the borders. Since 2001, I've worked
with the United States Congress to increase border security funding by 66
percent. I want to thank the members of Congress for working on that.
(Applause.) Border Patrol has been expanded from about 9,000 agents to
12,000 agents. And we're building new infrastructures on the border.

Federal agents like you have apprehended and sent home about 6 million
people entering America illegally since 2001. It's an amazing statistic,
isn't it? Most American people have no earthly idea how hard our Border
Patrol agents are working. Six million people since 2001 have been caught
trying to come into this country illegally and sent home. And that's why I
tell you I'm grateful for your hard work. People are doing an outstanding
job.

But we got to make sure that we give you more to secure the border.
Congress needs to fund dramatic increases in manpower and additional
technology that will help you build on the successes. See, there's more
work to be done. We're going to increase the size of the Border Patrol by
additional 6,000 agents by the end of 2008. You're going to be busy here
at this facility. See, our goal is to have doubled the Border Patrol to
about 18,000 Border Patrol agents. That's what they tell me is going to
work. I said, fine, get it done. And your classes here are part of that
doubling of the Border Patrol. And when these agents that are trained here
are deploying, we're going to give them what's necessary in terms of
technology to be able to do their jobs.

See, we need to add new technologies to the new manpower we're training so
we can tell the American people we're doing our best we possibly can to
secure our border. Americans expect us to secure the border. It's an
important job of the federal government. And so we're going to double your
size, and we're going to get you new technologies.

We're going to build high-tech fences in urban corridors. For the agents
here who've been on the front lines of enforcing our border, you understand
how important those high-tech fences are so you can do that job. We're
going to make sure you got new patrol roads. We can't ask these new Border
Patrol agents that we're training to do their job and not have adequate
patrol roads to be able to go up and down the border. We're going to build
virtual fence that employs motion detectors and infrared cameras and
unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent illegal crossings. See, we're going to
leverage technology so you can better do your job.

Proposals to boost manpower and upgrade technologies have the support of
Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate. In other words,
there's consensus on that. We're going to get this part of the job done.
And I understand and you understand it takes time to get technology and
Border Patrol agents in place.

The training you do here takes 19 weeks, as it should. We don't want to
rush you through the academy. See, when we put you on the front line of
doing your job we want you to be as well-trained as you possibly can be.
That's what your families expect, that's what your government expects, and
that's what your trainers want. They want to use their skills to give you
the skills necessary to do the job.

But it takes the time, and yet, we don't have time to get this border
enforced. And so, therefore, I decided to work with our state governors,
Republicans and Democrats, to move 6,000 National Guard troops on the
border to help the current Border Patrol do the job until the new agents
are trained. That makes sense to me, doesn't it? If we've got a problem,
let's address it square on. And if part of the problem is we're waiting to
get new Border Patrol agents trained and we can't wait, let's move some
troops in -- National Guard troops that will be able to help those of you
on the front lines of securing our border do your job better.

Guard members are arriving at the border and they're going to set up a
headquarters to support Border Patrol operations. You see, you notice I
said "support the Border Patrol." The Border Patrol is in the lead --
that's why they're going through significant training. The Border Patrol
is the primary law enforcement agency on the border. And so the Guard
units are down there to support your job; they're to make it easier for you
to do your job. Our Guard units will not be involved in direct law
enforcement activities. That's not what they're going to go down there
for. The United States of America will not militarize our border. We're
going to make sure that the Border Patrol is the -- is directly involved in
law enforcement activities. That's what you're trained to do. The Guard
is going to free up Border Patrol to focus on stopping illegal immigrants
coming in. They're going to be building the roads, and they're going to be
doing the support.

When I was down in Yuma, I saw the Guard working side-by-side with Border
Patrol, and what they're doing is they're freeing up the Border Patrol to
be on the front lines. And I want to thank Governor Richardson and
Governor Perry and Governor Schwarzenegger, Governor Napolitano for working
with the federal government to prepare the way for the arrival of the Guard
troops. And as soon as you get the Border Patrol agents trained, these
Guard troops will be going home. But until that time, I want them down
here helping you do the job that the American people expect us to do.

We've got to stop catch and release. Perhaps the people of Artesia, New
Mexico know what I'm talking about; a lot of Americans don't. What happens
is, these Border Patrol agents work hard, they find somebody coming back --
coming into our country; they say, the rules say you check in with the
officer here, in the court, come back in about 20 days when we've got time
for you to show up -- and they don't show up. So you've got somebody
working hard to find somebody, and we let them back out in society, and
guess what -- they disappear. And we're going to end that practice.

Eighty-five percent of the illegal immigrants caught crossing the border
are Mexican citizens, so they get sent back quickly. Within 24 hours
they're sent back across the country, and that's important for people to
know -- if you get caught, you get sent home. It means it's less likely
you're going to try to come in in the first place.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy to send home illegal immigrants from
other countries, Central American countries, for example, and so they were
released back into our society. It had to be frustrating for you Border
Patrol agents who were on the front lines. You work hard, you find
somebody who is trying to sneak in from Central America, you do your job;
next thing you know you hear, oops, they're somewhere in society. So we're
going to end that practice.

And the way you end it is, you build more detention facilities. See, part
of the problem was we didn't have a place to hold these folks. And so now
I'm working with Congress to increase the number of detention facilities
along our borders, to make sure that when we catch somebody from a place
other than Mexico, there's a place to hold them until such time as we send
them back to their country.

I'm also talking to leaders of those countries from which these people are
coming, and I'm saying, you have a responsibility to take them back as
quickly as possible. And our mission is to end catch and release once and
for all on the southern border of the United States, and we intend to do
just that. (Applause.)

In order to make sure this Border Patrol strategy works, this strategy of
securing the border, we all agree in Washington that employers must be held
to account for the workers they hire. I spoke to the Chamber of Commerce
last week, and I made it clear that the United States is not going to
tolerate employers who violate our immigration laws. See, it's against the
law to hire someone who is here illegally. That's what the law says.
We're a nation of laws, and we expect people to abide by the laws. Most
businesses want to comply with the law; they really do. Most people are
good, law-abiding citizens who want to comply, but they have trouble
verifying the legal status of their employees because of widespread problem
of fake IDs and fraudulent Social Security numbers. See, there's a problem
here. We got people sneaking into our country, and there's a whole
document forgery ring supplying them with fake documents. And it's hard to
expect some small business person in Artesia, New Mexico to be in a
position to be a document checker.

And the federal government can help. So we're working on an effective
system for verifying work eligibility so the businesses can better comply
with the law, and then we'll be in a position to say, if you don't comply
with the law you deserve to be punished. If we catch you cheating right
now, you'll be punished. But we got to make sure that small businesses and
large businesses have got the capacity to verify whether a person is here
legally or not.

Congress needs to give federal agents the authority they need to enforce
the law when job applicants submit fraudulent Social Security numbers.
Congress needs to make it mandatory for employers to check information
provided by job applicants against federal databases. Right now it's
voluntary. In other words, you getting ready to hire somebody, you need to
check against the federal database to make sure the numbers on the cards
aren't forged, are real. But what really Congress needs to do is to use a
biometric technology to create a new tamper-proof identification card for
every legal foreign worker. That's what we need. We need a tamper-proof
card. It says, if you're here legally working, here's your card, and you
got to show it. And the business owner has got to call for it. And if
they hire somebody without the tamper-proof card, they're in violation of
the law and will be fined.

We've got to reduce the incentives for foreign workers to sneak across the
border. That's what we agree on in Washington. If I were a Border Patrol
agent, I'd be asking, what are you trying to do about the people trying to
sneak in here to work. How come -- how come you don't have a temporary way
for them to come work on the jobs Americans aren't doing? See, I believe
that we need to understand that there are people coming across this border
to put food on the table for their family, and they'll do anything to make
it into America to do work. That's what you got to understand. A lot of
people in Artesia, New Mexico know what I'm talking about. There are
people coming to do work Americans aren't doing. They're working in the
dairy farms, they're working the crops, they're laying tile, they're
putting roof on in August.

And, therefore, it seems like to me if we want to protect this border, we
ought to recognize they're coming and give them a temporary worker card.
They can come if they pass a criminal background check for a limited period
of time, and after they do their time, they go back home.

If you want to secure this border, you got to make it so people don't feel
like they got to sneak across the border. The people these people catch
are coming into this country to do jobs. We ought to recognize that and
say, here is a legal way for you to come on a temporary basis for jobs that
Americans aren't doing. And when you finish your time, when your time is
up with the temporary worker card, you go back home. And one way to secure
that border is to have people not trying to sneak across the border; is to
give them a chance to come here legally on a temporary basis.

You know, I was out in Yuma, and they were describing one of the techniques
for people coming here to work. You got a couple of Border Patrol agents
out on a part of the world -- a part of the road there, and a hundred
people rush them, a hundred people coming to do work rush right across the
border, and you got three agents trying to stop them. And it's impossible.
So the way to stop them is to do what we're doing out there: Add Border
Patrol agents, add new double-fencing in that part of the border. But it
seems like to me it's logical to say, you can come over, you don't need to
rush the Border Patrol. Just come over here in a legal way, if you pass a
background check, for a temporary period of time, and do work Americans
aren't doing. That's called a temporary worker plan. And, in my judgment,
any comprehensive bill that will work requires a temporary worker plan.

We all agree we've got to resolve the status of millions of illegal
immigrants who are here already. And this is the toughest part of the bill
for the Congress. Now, I believe there's widespread agreement that we
should not have an automatic path to citizenship, which is called amnesty.
I'm against amnesty. I'm against amnesty because it's unfair to those
people who are standing in line to become a citizen and who have been here
lawfully, and I'm against amnesty because I think if you grant amnesty it
invites a further wave of illegal immigrants to try to come in this
country. So whatever plan we do should not be viewed as amnesty.

In other words, some say, well, the way to solve this problem is to say,
you're here, you're automatically a citizen. I disagree strongly with
that. Now, there is a debate and honest disagreement who believe that
immigration policy should force every illegal immigrant to return home for
good. That's what some people in Washington think. And, obviously, there
are those at the other end who believe that every illegal immigrant should
be granted automatic citizenship. Neither of those plans are going to
work. I just described why one wouldn't work. And trying to find 10
million people who have been here for a long period of time, and rout them
out of our society and send them home is just impractical. It may sound
good; it's not going to work.

Our job is to put something on paper that will work, so these Border Patrol
agents can get their job done. Our job is to be practical and to use
common sense. And so here's a common sense middle ground between those two
polarized positions. First of all, we've got to recognize that people who
-- the difference between people who have been here for a while, and people
here, newly arrived. Those who have been here newly arrived ought to be
given a temporary worker card, and they work their time and go home.

But we've got to recognize that there are people who have been here for
years, and they've got a home and a clean record, and they've been paying
taxes. And so I believe if they want to stay here, that they ought to pay
a fine, first and foremost. They've broken our law, and they ought to pay
a fine for breaking the law. Secondly, I believe they've got to pay taxes,
and make sure that they pay their taxes. Thirdly, I believe they ought to
speak English. And fourthly, I believe they have to prove they've been
working for a job for a number of years. In other words, there's a
consequence. And then -- and then -- they can apply for citizenship, but
they don't get at the head of the line, they get in the back of the line.
You get behind the people who have been here legally.

In other words, you've got somebody who has been here for a while, they've
been a good citizen, they've been working hard, and they pay a penalty for
being here illegally. But if they want to choose to be a citizen, they get
behind those people who have been here legally and who haven't broken the
law. And if Congress is worried about the number of people getting in,
they can decrease the number of green cards. You can control the size of
the line by the number of green cards you issue. If you want a longer line
for people, issue fewer green cards. If you want to shorten the line,
issue more green cards. But here is a rational way to make sure that we
treat people with dignity without granting automatic citizenship, which is
called amnesty.

And finally, whatever our views on the issue, we've got to agree that we've
got to uphold the great American tradition of the melting pot. You know,
we are one nation, under God, for a reason, and that is because we
appreciate our history and we share ideals, we respect the flag we fly, and
we're bound together by a common language.

I believe English is the key to unlocking opportunity in America. It's
been what it takes to help somebody go from picking crops to owning a
grocery store, or from cleaning the floors of an office building to running
that office. It's what we call assimilation, as part of assimilating to be
Americans. When immigrants assimilate into this society, they realize
their dreams. A lot of people have come here to this country over the
decades with a dream, some of them just as simple as, I'd like to own my
own house, or, I want to work hard so my child can go to college.

I'll never forget being the governor of Texas and going to schools like
UTEP, University of Texas at El Paso. One of the most amazing parts of
that ceremony is when the President of the university stood up and she
said, how many of you are first-generation graduates from college, and you
see the students -- a lot of them stood up. And you see their proud
parents who've worked all their life to help a child go to college.
There's something about America where people can work hard and realize
dreams that has, I think, made us a unique nation. And as we go through
this debate, we've got to understand that people who have dreams and work
hard to achieve those dreams renews the spirit of the country, give us a
uniqueness, and the capacity to say we're all Americans.

So here are the elements for a comprehensive immigration bill -- and I
believe strongly this, that if we don't address all the elements together,
none of it is going to be solved at all. The reason I called for a
comprehensive bill is because I understand that in order for these good
folks to do their job, we've got to link all five aspects together. We've
got to be realistic about what it takes to enforce the border. So I look
forward to working with Congress on this important issue.

I'll make you this pledge: My tone in this debate is going to be
respectful. The language I use in this debate is going to remember the
values and ideals of America. The language I use in this debate is to
remember we're from different backgrounds, different religions, different
cultures, but ultimately we're united under the great ideals of the United
States of America. (Applause.) And I expect everybody else in this debate
to carry that same tone, as well.

And so I want to thank you for giving me a chance to share my thoughts with
you. I feel passionately about this issue. I feel like one reason the
people send us to Washington, D.C. is to solve difficult problems. That's
what you send us to do. You didn't send us up there to kind of shove them
aside and hope that they go away. This one is not going away. This one
needs to be solved right now.

And I also came to thank those who are getting ready to serve the Border
Patrol for serving this great country of ours. You're an important part of
securing America, and I want to thank you for your dedication to our
country. (Applause.)

I want to congratulate the new Commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, Ralph Basham. Ralph has a long and distinguished record of
service in federal law enforcement. He joined the Secret Service during
the presidency of Richard Nixon. Some of you all weren't even born during
that period of time. (Laughter.) He served as Special Agent in Charge of
the Secret Service Offices in Cleveland and in Washington. He rose all the
way to the position of Secret Service Director in 2003. I know he made it
to that position because I put him there, and I put him there for a reason.
He knows what he's doing. He can get the job done.

Ralph served as Chief of Staff for the Transportation Security
Administration, and Director of Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
That's where he came to know the Border Patrol Agency -- Academy. He's a
decent man. I trust him deeply, and he's going to be a superb leader for
Customs and Border Protection.